Aeroflot Open – tenth anniversary edition in February 2011

11/24/2010 – The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, one of the most popular tournaments in the world, will be held for the tenth time running, from 7 to 19 February 2011. It is open to chess players of most varied qualification: from unrated to GMs. The total prize fund is 160,000 Euros, and it includes qualification places for the Super Tournament in Dortmund and the World Blitz Championship 2011. Register now!

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Information and Regulations of the International Chess Open
Festival
"AEROFLOT OPEN 2011" and the Qualification Tournament
for the World Blitz Championship 2011

General information of the festival:

The International Chess Festival "Aeroflot Open 2011" will be held
in Moscow from 7 February (the date of arrival) to 19 February 2011 (the date
of departure).

The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, which is popular throughout the world, will
be held in February 2011 for the tenth time running. This major event is open
to chess players of most varied qualification: from unrated to having a very
high rating. As before, the festival is held "under the wings" of
our leading air company – Aeroflot – Russian airlines. For the sixth
year running the festival will take place in the major tourist complex "Izmailovo"
- hotel "Gamma – Delta", where the participants of the previous
festivals so liked to stay and to play. This time the festival has the prize
fund amounting to EUR 160,000 (taking into account the prizes for the World
Blitz Qualification Tournament).

Moscow in the winter, and the location of the Aeroflot Open...

The tourist and hotel complex "Izmailovo", where most of the participants also
stay

Three Open Tournaments (A, B and C) are made up according to the rating of
the participants. Naturally, the greatest interest is aroused by A tournament,
requiring from a participant a rating above 2550 and usually boasting a number
of extra class players.

This time, the Qualification Tournament for the World Blitz Championship will
be held within the festival, in addition to the open tournaments. The official
hotel and tournament venue is the hotel "Gamma-Delta" belonging to
the Tourist Complex "Ismailovo". The Organizers of the Festival are
the "Aeroflot-Russian Airlines", the Association of Chess Federations
and the Russian Chess Federation.

Type of Chess Festival:

The festival consists of three open tournaments, each of which is a nine round
Swiss event.

The winner of the A tournament will be entitled to participate in the round-robin
Super Tournament in Dortmund in the second half of July 2011.

Tournament B: for players with a FIDE rating less than 2550, but higher
than 2299 (total €37,500)
Tournament C: for players with a FIDE rating less than 2300 or without rating
(total €18,000)

1st Prize

10,000

3,500

2nd Prize

6,000

2,300

3rd Prize

3,500

1,500

4th Prize

2,000

1,000

5th Prize

1,500

700

6-10th Prizes

5x850 = 4,250

5x500 = 2,500

11-15th Prizes

5x550 = 2,750

5x400 = 2,000

16-25th Prizes

10x450 = 4,500

5x250 = 2,500

26-35th Prizes

10x300 = 3,000

10x200 = 2,000

In exceptional cases the Organising Committee has the right to permit a chess
player to play in a higher rated tournament than his/her FIDE rating indicates.
In case of a tie of 2 or more participants, the prizes are divided according
to the Hort system. The number of prizes in each tournament does not exceed
that indicated above in the tables.

Tiebreak systems:

For tournament A and B: 1. The number of games played with Black. Byes and
forfeited games will be considered as games played with White. 2. The average
of the opponents' ratings minus the highest and the lowest rating.

For Tournament C: 1. The Buchholz score

Explication of the Hort System for the prize distribution.

In cases of a tie of two or more participants will be divided according to
the Hort system. The following example will explain this system: Suppose four
players share the same place, and the four prizes are as follows: 1st EUR 10,000,
2nd EUR 8,000, 3rd EUR 6,000, 4th EUR 4,000. We have to split the amount of
EUR 28,000. We split it into two equal parts of EUR 14,000 each. The first part
will be split equally. Each of the players receives EUR 3,500. The second part
will be split according to the ranking after tiebreak.

Special Prizes:

There will also be special prizes for the best performance among seniors, women
and juniors in all tournaments amounting to EUR 2500 in total. There will also
be a prize for the best result shown by an unrated player in section C. Only
one prize can be awarded to a player (the highest one).

The exact distribution of the special prizes will be announced after the second
round of the tournament, when the numbers of seniors, women and juniors and
the ratings of these players are known. Attention is called to the fact that
for such prizes to be awarded there should be at least 3 players in each of
the above categories.

Seniors, Juniors and Women

A player will be considered a Senior when he was born before 01-01-1951.
A player will be considered a Junior when he was born after 31-12-1992.
Girls born before 31-12-1992 will be considered as Women players.

Time control

Tournament A and B: 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in
1 hour, finally 15 minutes for the remaining moves with an increment of 30
seconds per move in the last period.Tournament C: 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment
of 30 seconds per move from move 1.

Swiss Blitz Tournament

On 17 Feb. 2011 a double nine-round Swiss Blitz Tournament will be held in
the same venue (complex
“Izmailovo”), which will have the status of qualification for the
World Blitz Championship 2011 (Final). The prize
fund of the Qualification Tournament constitutes EUR 35,000 to be distributed
as follows:

1st Prize

10,000

2nd Prize

5,000

3rd Prize

3,500

4th Prize

2,000

5th Prize

1,500

6-10th Prizes

5x1,300 = 6,500

11-15th Prizes

5x800 = 4,000

16-20th Prizes

5x500 = 3,500

The participants of tournaments A and B with rating higher than or equal to
2400 are admitted without a fee. The other players will be admitted on the following
terms:

This year the Organizing Committee has again decided to reimburse the participants
for the airport and fuel taxes they have to pay. The whole trip will become
cheaper for both the participants and the accompanying persons. There is an
insignificant redistribution of airport cities by zones. Futhermore, starting
from the year 2010, all participants and accompanying persons who enjoy, within
this project, the services of the air company Aeroflot – Russian Airlines
and who have paid for their respective packages, will get their fully paid for
air tickets by e-mail. The earlier you pay the entry fee (also, with a very
cheap air ticket) the smaller its amount will be. The minimal fees are accepted
until 10 Dec 2010. All prices are given in Euros. When paying in USD 1 Euro
= 1.5 USD.

Bank details

We kindly request the participants to transfer the payment in EUR or USD for
the package to the following account:

Visa, tickets and payment

From the tables given below one can see the financial conditions of participation.
The price of the package (airfare, transfer, accommodation and entrance fee)
is given at a discount. A participant who does not need air ticket and accommodation
should only pay the entrance fee, which is the same for all participants. The
earlier the payment is made the smaller its amount.

We again call the attention of all foreigners who wish to participate in the
festival “Aeroflot Open 2010” that in order to get their visas and
air tickets in time they should pay for the package no later than Jan 24, 2011.

After the payment is made please send to our e-mail or fax addresses the registration
form, including the name and surname, Elo rating, birth date, home address,
number and expiry date of your passport, as well as a (scanned) copy of
it, your itinerary (with arrival and departure dates). Please name the
city in which you want to get your entry visa. The further course of action
is this – the Association of Chess Federations receives a confirmation
of payment and at once, within a single working day, sends an invitation to
start arranging for a visa. Electronic tickets will be sent to the e-mail address
you indicate.

Accommodation at the hotel room from 7 to 18 Feb. 2011 is paid for by the package.
Those who wish to come earlier and/or depart at a later date should book and
additionally pay for their rooms in advance (not later than Feb. 1, 2011). The
room prices in the periods from 5 to 7 Feb. and from 19 Feb. to 21 Mar 2011
are:

single room – EUR 90

double room – EUR 140 (for 2 persons)

One person may stay in a double room only if he has paid the whole price (EUR
140).

Attention is called to the fact that full packages that have already been
paid for are not refundable. Payments in rubles or US dollars is accepted at
the following rates:

Full details of rules, regulations, conditions and many
different example packages
are available on the official
announcement in PFD (eight pages, easy to print out).

ChessBase reports on recent Aeroflot tournaments

Dortmund 2010: Le Quang Liem beats Ponomariov18.07.2010 – 19-year-old Le Quang Liem earned
a place in this tournament by winning the Aeroflot tournament in Moscow,
earlier this year. The Vietnamese GM has had a string of very strong events,
jumping from practically nowhere into the top 50 in the world. That was
no fluke, as he demonstrated today with a fine victory over tournament
leader Ruslan Ponomariov. Round
four report.

Aeroflot Open – the guessing game16.02.2010 – Five players lead with 5.0/7 points
in the A groupe of this prestigious Moscow open tournament – two Vietnamese
and three Russians. Eleven GMs from various nations following half a point
behind. The female players start at place 48. There are a lot of very
nice but uncaptioned pictures on the official tournament site. Thanks
for the help in identifying them – there are still
a few names missing.

Aeroflot Open 2010 – Le Quang Liem in the lead12.02.2010 – After three rounds of this massive
tournament GM Le Quang Liem is the only player left with a clean score:
three wins in three games. He is followed by another Vietnamese GM (and
a Bulgarian and a Russian), with 31 players behind them – of whom two
are female and one an IM. We bring you results and games, plus photo
impressions by WGM Yana Melnikova.

Aeroflot Open 2010 has started in Moscow09.02.2010 – The 9th Aeroflot Open is taking
place from Feb. 9–18, 2010, in the tourist complex Izmailovo Hotel Gamma-Delta.
The prize sum is EUR 180,000. There are four open tournaments (A1, A2,
B and C) which are made up according to the rating of the participants.
The A1 tournament has players with a rating of 2550 or higher. Results
and games of round one.

Chernyshov wins Moscow Open 201008.02.2010 – This event took place from Jan.
30 to Feb. 7, just before the 9th Aeroflot Open (Feb. 8–19) – which meant
that many strong players were in the Russian capital to participate in
both tournaments. Four players shared first in the Moscow Open, with 7.0/9
points. The winner was Konstantin Chernyshov on tie-break, with the decisive
factor being that he had the most wins. Illustrated
report.

FIDE World Blitz Championship 2010 Internet Tournament13.01.2010 – On February 18, 2010, during the
Aeroflot tournament, a double nine-round Swiss blitz tournament will be
held in Moscow – a qualifier for the World Blitz Championship to be held
in November 2010 after the Tal Memorial. Would you like to take part in
the Feb. 18 tournament? Three places, including flight expenses and hotel
in Moscow, are available to the winners of this FIDE
Playchess qualifier.

Aeroflot-gate: reactions from our readers13.03.2009 – When he was crushed at the Aeroflot
Open by a weaker player in just 21 moves top seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
withdrew in protest, claiming his opponent had been using computer assistance.
The accused, Igor Kurnosov, replied with an open letter, and ten days
later Mamedyarov restated (and emphasized) his claims. All this has produced
vigorous feedback from our readers. Excerpts.

Aeroflot-gate: Mamedyarov sticks to his guns11.03.2009 – Two weeks ago we reported from
the Aeroflot Open, where top seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov withdrew after
a game where he felt his opponent, GM Igor Kurnosov, had been receiving
computer assistance. A week later Kurnosov responded, and now Mamedyarov,
who is not prepared to let the matter drop, has published a strongly-worded
letter on an Azeri sports website. Translation.

Alexander Moiseenko – the secret of success11.03.2009 – He is 28, a lawyer by training
but a strong chess grandmaster by profession. Recently Alexander Moiseenko
won the very strong Aeroflot Open, together with Etienne Bacrot. This
is just the culmination of a row of successful tournaments. Moiseenko
spoke at length with our correspondent WGM Anastasiya Karlovich about
training, tournament strategy and chess in Ukraine. Interview.

Aeroflot scandal – the accused responds02.03.2009 – A week ago we reported on the
sensational incident at the Aeroflot Open, when world-class grandmaster
Shakriyar Mamedyarov publicly accused Russian GM Igor Kurnosov of using
computer assistance, in their sixth-round game. Now the accused player
has responded in a formal statement on what transpired. We bring you a
translation
and selection of readers' letters.

Sergey Karjakin wins Aeroflot Blitz Qualifier27.02.2009 – As part of the Aeroflot Open Chess
Festival one more big event was held in Moscow. 165 players took part
in the Qualification Tournament for the World Blitz Championship, among
them over a hundred grandmasters. For the majority the blitz tournament
was part of playing in the Aeroflot Open, but some arrived in Moscow only
to qualify for the World Blitz. Photo
report by WGM Yana Melnikova.

Etienne Bacrot wins Aeroflot Open 200926.02.2009 – Things didn't look that good for
France's top GM, until victories in the last two rounds put him at the
top of the table and gave him first place on tiebreak points. Second,
with the same number of points (6.5/9) was Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine.
We bring you all results and games from the top group, plus, from wintry
Moscow, a big photo
report by WGM Yana Melnikova.

Aeroflot Open 2009 – photographic impressions24.02.2009 – What was missing from our reports
on the Aeroflot Open? Why pictures, visual impressions of the action.
Not a single one was on the official site, and so it was a pleasant surprise
when a colleague sent us a very nice bunch from Moscow. The include some
critical shots of the contentious game Mamedyarov-Kurnosov from round
six. From Moscow here is Misha
Savinov's big pictorial report.

Top seed Mamedyarov withdraws from Aeroflot Open23.02.2009 – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is the top
seed in the 2009 edition of the Aeroflot Open in Moscow (February 17–26).
After five rounds he was leading, together with Alexander Moiseenko and
Igor Kurnosov. In round six he was crushed by Kurnosov in 21 moves. Mamedyarov
filed an official complaint, essentially accusing his opponent of cheating,
and withdrew from the event. Breaking
news.

Kurnosov leads at Aeroflot Open 200920.02.2009 – In recent years, the Aeroflot
Open in Moscow (February 17–26) has become established as the world's
strongest open tournament. The top section is limited to players rated
2550 or over – and has 76 participants of whom only seven are not GMs.
The prize fund is 70,000 Euros, with 21,000 going to the winner. After
three rounds Igor Kurnosov leads with 3.0 points. Games
and results.

Nepomniachtchi wins Aeroflot Open 200822.02.2008 – We are going to have to learn
to pronounce his name. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia scored 7.0/9 to
finish clear first in the 2008 Aeroflot Open in Moscow. His performance
was a resounding 2822. Behind him we find Russian GMs Alexander Motylev
and Alexey Dreev, each with 6.5 points. We bring you the final standings,
games,
pictures and videos.

Aeroflot 2008: Two players lead with 4.5/5 points19.02.2008 – They are Maxim Rodshtein from
Israel and Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia. Behind them are two further
Russian GMs, Artyom Timofeev and Alexey Dreev. The Aeroflot Open 2008
has completed five rounds in the "Gamma-Delta" Hotel in Moscow. We bring
you standings,
games, pictures and videos.

Aeroflot Open 2000 under way in Moscow16.02.2008 – It will probably be the strongest
open of the year, and is taking place from February 13th to 22nd. The
venue and official hotel the "Gamma-Delta" Hotel, which can accomodate
3,500 guests. The festival consists of four tournaments, each a nine rounds
Swiss Tournament. We bring you results and games from the first two rounds,
and a number of video links that provide impressions
of the tournament.

Aeroflot Open 2007: Evgeny Alekseev wins in style25.02.2007 – The winner of the Russian championship
superfinal also took clear first the Aeroflot Open 2007. Actually he completed
a hattrick by winning the St. Petersburg Blitz Championship in between.
Well done! Evgeny Tomashevsky finished second, outmatching Dmitry Jakovenko
by the narrowest of margins. Big
illustrated report by Misha Savinov.

Aeroflot: Jakovenko, Alekseev, Tomashevsky lead22.02.2007 – Actually the sensation is 21-year-old
GM Stanislav Novikov, who has come out of nowhere – and from a very modest
background – to show opening originality, excellent endgame knowledge,
pragmatism, stubbornness in defense and incredible determination. Take
a look at his tenacious draw against Jakovenko. Misha
Savinov reports.

See also

12/30/2017 – The "King Salman World Blitz & Rapid Championships 2017" in Riyadh from Decemer 26th to 30th. At the half way point of the Blitz Championship, the defending champ Sergey Karjakin leads with 9 / 11. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is a half point back followed by Peter Svidler and a trio of Chinese: Wang, Ding and Yu on 8 / 11. In the Women's Pia Cramling has a full point lead with 9½ / 11. Watch live with Rounds 11 to 22 from 12:00 Noon CET (6:00 AM EST) on Saturday with commentary by E. Miroshnichenko & WGM K. Tsatsalashvili.

See also

12/6/2017 – Imagine this: you tell a computer system how the pieces move — nothing more. Then you tell it to learn to play the game. And a day later — yes, just 24 hours — it has figured it out to the level that beats the strongest programs in the world convincingly! DeepMind, the company that recently created the strongest Go program in the world, turned its attention to chess, and came up with this spectacular result.

Video

The introductory position of the Kasparov Gambit can occur after 1 d4,1 Nf3 and 1 c4, which can appeal to a wide range of players. The usual move order is 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 Nf3 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e5!? 5 Nb5 d5 6 cxd5 Bc5 bringing us to a very sharp position. On this 60 mins, FIDE Senior Trainer Andrew Martin argues the case from the Black side, showing both classic Kasparov masterpieces and games from the present day and suggests that White's defensive task is not easy. This is a practical gambit which will help players at all levels to win more games. It is ideal for must-win situations with Black. It is a gambit that White cannot decline,as if he does, Black gets a good position instantly. White must take up the cudgels and fight!

Enjoy the best moments of recent top tournaments (World Cup, Isle of Man Open) with analysis of top players. In addition you'll get lots of training material. For example 10 new suggestions for your opening repertoire.